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Little House: The Caroline Years #1
Little House in Brookfield
Young Caroline Quiner, who would grow up to become Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother, and her family survive their first year without Father in the frontier town of Brookfield, Wisconsin
298 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1996
About the author
Maria D. Wilkes
13 books59 followersMaria D. Wilkes first read the Little House books as a young girl and has been fascinated by pioneer history ever since. She did extensive research on the Quiner, Ingalls, and Wilder families, studied original sources and family letters and diaries, and worked in close consultation with several historians and the Laura Ingalls Wilder estate as she wrote the Caroline Years books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Peter, and her daughters, Grace and Natalie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
July 17, 2011
You know a book is good when I (age fifteen) am reading about the daily life of a five-year old. Not garanteeing that every Fifteen year old will love this book, But it reminds me of my childhood, and makes me happy. I just wish it was a fairy tale, because if it was based off anything but a true story, Father would come waltzing in Christmas morning with a big sack of flour and candy all around. Unfortunately, this is not a movie, this is not one of my "once upon a time" novels, this is little house, and though they have some of those simple pleasures that make you wish you were them, they don't have perfect lives. Real grief, real loss, amnd real suffering. unfortunately. Because they are so strong and amazing you want everything to work out for them. the same reason theat everytime i re read Laura's Little house books, i am tempted not to read the last one, because it just doesn't work out as well, they suffer, and have bad luck, and real life happens. I like the fairy tale Ma and Pa, log cabin, story telling approach. Because i like happy endings. and beginings and endings. just happiness.
February 26, 2021
After enjoying the Martha and Charlotte Years, we had to continue with Caroline's story. I do prefer Martha Wiley's writing style but Maria D. Wilkes does a fine job with Caroline's story. I actually feel Caroline is a more challenging protagonist to portray because we have to see in her a little glimmer of the grown-up "Ma" -- unlike Laura, Charlotte and Martha, Caroline actually does care for pretty dresses and fine needlework. She doesn't have that personality where she feels she will just burst if she doesn't get to run wild outdoors with the boys. Imagine the Little House books written from Mary's perspective. But, then, I think that the Marys and Carolines of the world need to have the spotlight sometimes. After all, there is nothing wrong with not being a tomboy or not having a fiery temper (that role goes to her older sister in this book) but it takes a skilled writer to still make the story interesting. That said, Caroline is not empty-headed or without a strong backbone and I especially admired the family as a whole for the hard work they have to do being in a home without a father, which is challenging in the best of times, but particularly difficult for a farming family in the 1800s. I'm not sure Wilkes succeeded 100% in making Caroline feel like a real, live, unique girl for me... but I also still enjoyed her story and also felt that the element of her father having been lost at sea (prior to the start of this book) was handled well as there is that sorrow as a backdrop but it is not overly sentimentalized and Charlotte (Caroline's mother's) way of handling it is admirable.
September 21, 2015
Excuse me while I go and cry in a corner. Caroline Quiner's father died about the time she turned five, and this begins towards the end of their first year without him.
I recognized parts of this book, making me wonder if perhaps I read this one already. I remember laundry day the best. Thank goodness for wash machines. And running water. All that modern stuff. I take back all I said about going back in time. Doctor, if you were planning on stopping at my house, I'm going to have to put a leash on you so you don't leave me in the past. And I'll kick weeping angel butt if I get sent back. *beheads weeping angel statues*
Melissa Wiley is no longer writing, so it took a tad bit of time to get into the story. I'm excited to read the rest because this is the first series where we get to see the blossoming romance. Ah. Reading THIS one, I wanted to know everything about what brought Charlotte and Henry Quiner into their meeting. How did Charlotte get to Wisconsin and why? I totally get how Martha Morse might (probably?) have run away to Boston for Lewis Tucker, but why did Charlotte end up in Wisconsin?
I felt dreadful for the Quiners. There was no safety net back then for a widow. Dude. Charlotte was completely blessed to have a passel of children to assist her with daily tasks and her mother-in-law to help with the baby. Of course, in the event that she wouldn't have had children to keep her tied to Wisconsin, she might have sold the farm and gone back to Boston (changing the course of her family's future). But, she had kids. She had kind neighbors (and credit. That's super important) and her family. She was tough. Even the Caroline noticed how poorly off they were. There are moments where the lack of enough to eat was mentioned (hungry bellies, unsatisfying food). They had to do without a lot. Charlotte took in sewing to earn money. They sold ashes (used to make candles) and pelts to make extra money. You can only get so much without paying for it. However, they weren't so badly off that they had to farm out the kids. None of them died of starvation.
Planning to do some extra research again (I mapped out where Brookfield is... swallowed up by Milwaukee, basically. and Roxbury). Being that Laura started writing when her mother's family was still alive, we have more information about Caroline than the rest. Of course, by the time Caroline was born, recordkeeping was much, much better than when Charlotte was born and scads better than whatever Scotland was doing when Martha was born (of course, if she eloped and her family scratched her out of the records, I can understand why she's impossible to trace. That's scandalous behavior for you, gettin' your name burned out of the family tree since Cain killed Abel). Family trees are 95% bullshit anyway (especially with those Ellis Island clerks and the Hitlers all changing their names). My mother's cousin is finding it ridiculously difficult to track women in our family tree because of that pesky wedding name change thing. I'll just continue claiming to be related to Good King Wenceslas and call it good. Who cares if it's a lie?
*ahem* 3.5 rounded up to 4. I still don't feel talked down to, it just wasn't fireworks and woooooooo. It was kind of a Debbie Downer. Seriously. But, these folks stayed mostly cheerful, even if it was fictitious. I would have done the exact same thing if I was in Martha's shoes. Er. You'll know if you read.
I recognized parts of this book, making me wonder if perhaps I read this one already. I remember laundry day the best. Thank goodness for wash machines. And running water. All that modern stuff. I take back all I said about going back in time. Doctor, if you were planning on stopping at my house, I'm going to have to put a leash on you so you don't leave me in the past. And I'll kick weeping angel butt if I get sent back. *beheads weeping angel statues*
Melissa Wiley is no longer writing, so it took a tad bit of time to get into the story. I'm excited to read the rest because this is the first series where we get to see the blossoming romance. Ah. Reading THIS one, I wanted to know everything about what brought Charlotte and Henry Quiner into their meeting. How did Charlotte get to Wisconsin and why? I totally get how Martha Morse might (probably?) have run away to Boston for Lewis Tucker, but why did Charlotte end up in Wisconsin?
I felt dreadful for the Quiners. There was no safety net back then for a widow. Dude. Charlotte was completely blessed to have a passel of children to assist her with daily tasks and her mother-in-law to help with the baby. Of course, in the event that she wouldn't have had children to keep her tied to Wisconsin, she might have sold the farm and gone back to Boston (changing the course of her family's future). But, she had kids. She had kind neighbors (and credit. That's super important) and her family. She was tough. Even the Caroline noticed how poorly off they were. There are moments where the lack of enough to eat was mentioned (hungry bellies, unsatisfying food). They had to do without a lot. Charlotte took in sewing to earn money. They sold ashes (used to make candles) and pelts to make extra money. You can only get so much without paying for it. However, they weren't so badly off that they had to farm out the kids. None of them died of starvation.
Planning to do some extra research again (I mapped out where Brookfield is... swallowed up by Milwaukee, basically. and Roxbury). Being that Laura started writing when her mother's family was still alive, we have more information about Caroline than the rest. Of course, by the time Caroline was born, recordkeeping was much, much better than when Charlotte was born and scads better than whatever Scotland was doing when Martha was born (of course, if she eloped and her family scratched her out of the records, I can understand why she's impossible to trace. That's scandalous behavior for you, gettin' your name burned out of the family tree since Cain killed Abel). Family trees are 95% bullshit anyway (especially with those Ellis Island clerks and the Hitlers all changing their names). My mother's cousin is finding it ridiculously difficult to track women in our family tree because of that pesky wedding name change thing. I'll just continue claiming to be related to Good King Wenceslas and call it good. Who cares if it's a lie?
*ahem* 3.5 rounded up to 4. I still don't feel talked down to, it just wasn't fireworks and woooooooo. It was kind of a Debbie Downer. Seriously. But, these folks stayed mostly cheerful, even if it was fictitious. I would have done the exact same thing if I was in Martha's shoes. Er. You'll know if you read.
March 17, 2019
I read this when I was younger and read it again this year and I thought it was pretty cute
September 3, 2023
Not a peak piece of literature by any means, but still a cute and fun little read 😄
September 21, 2010
This is the first book in the Caroline Year's series. They are based around Caroline Quiner the little girl that grows up to be Laura Ingalls' ma. This book starts out with five-year old Caroline and her family in their frame house in Brookfield, Wisconsin a year after their father, Henry Quiner, was lost at sea. These books are based on letters that Laura and her aunt Martha Quiner Carpenter exchanged about Martha and Caroline's life when they were young. I have always loved the Little House books and when I found out that not only was there a series for Rose Wilder people had also written a series for Caroline, Charlotte, and Martha. So I went right out and bought the ones I could get my hands on. The Caroline year's are definitely my favorite, not sure exactly why but they are. This book talks about all the trials and tribulations that this family goes through after their father goes missing. It also shows how little things really make a difference and all though they didn't have a lot they had enough and they had each other. These books always make me wish I could have lived back then. Even though they didn't have indoor plumbing and really no luxuries whatsoever. Caroline is such a sweet and inquisitive kid and she really thinks about how what she does is going to affect those she loves. This book also spends a bit of time in the winter, which in Wisconsin is pretty harsh. There is an early frost which causes problems because they didn't have any of their garden picked yet. But they make what they have last and get a few food surprises along the way. I wish the world was a bit more like this because no one really helps each other out with no thought for themselves the way they did in this time period.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2021
Much of my childhood was spent near Brookfield, WI, which might be why I loved the Caroline books so much! The weather, landscape, and agricultural style were familiar to me from real life. I'd forgotten how sad Little House in Brookfield was, taking place the year after Caroline's father died on a schooner, leaving behind a wife and six children. Yet, Wilkes manages to keep things upbeat in the story, ending on a positive note in most chapters.
Wilkes drew from Quiner family letters, and I'm curious about one story in particular, when local Native Americans (Wisconsin is home to several tribes, and even more tribes who were pushed west by the 1840s) brought a buck to the Quiners. Ma's phobia in the Little House books is well-known, and this story took me by surprise. It was largely positive, though the dialogue was poorly written. I'll be keeping an eye out for how Wilkes handles this topic in later books.
Wilkes drew from Quiner family letters, and I'm curious about one story in particular, when local Native Americans (Wisconsin is home to several tribes, and even more tribes who were pushed west by the 1840s) brought a buck to the Quiners. Ma's phobia in the Little House books is well-known, and this story took me by surprise. It was largely positive, though the dialogue was poorly written. I'll be keeping an eye out for how Wilkes handles this topic in later books.
November 24, 2015
Apparently this was one of my favorite books ten years ago. I seem to have started it so much that the first two chapters are falling out of the book! I can see why my seven year old self might have liked it. It's basically Little House on the Prairie before Little House on the Prairie but written after. It had a protagonist basically the same age I was, and it's a fun read.
But reading it after the Charlotte series was different. Young Charlotte and young Caroline are basically the same. Maybe we can attribute their sameness to an author shift, but still. Also, what happened to Mother Charlotte! I know she wouldn't be the same kind of mother as Martha, and her husband has died, but still! She talks like a Quaker at times and always quotes Bible verses. (Not that I have anything wrong with that, but she didn't seem as if she grew up like that) Also, it's never clearly stated that the book takes place in Wisconsin, at least not for a long time.
But on to the positives! This book does have great historical detail, and the characterization in this book is great! I love how Caroline is concerned with not getting her clothes dirty, and I love how she stands up for Martha. Henry-O is awesome, and I love how the children, especially Joseph, all look out for their mother. I think I'll enjoy this series once I get over the author change shock. By the way, is Caroline pronounced Caroline or Carolyn? Also, I love the blue on this cover!
PS: Because the books are getting longer and comparatively harder, I probably won't be able to finish them as fast.
But reading it after the Charlotte series was different. Young Charlotte and young Caroline are basically the same. Maybe we can attribute their sameness to an author shift, but still. Also, what happened to Mother Charlotte! I know she wouldn't be the same kind of mother as Martha, and her husband has died, but still! She talks like a Quaker at times and always quotes Bible verses. (Not that I have anything wrong with that, but she didn't seem as if she grew up like that) Also, it's never clearly stated that the book takes place in Wisconsin, at least not for a long time.
But on to the positives! This book does have great historical detail, and the characterization in this book is great! I love how Caroline is concerned with not getting her clothes dirty, and I love how she stands up for Martha. Henry-O is awesome, and I love how the children, especially Joseph, all look out for their mother. I think I'll enjoy this series once I get over the author change shock. By the way, is Caroline pronounced Caroline or Carolyn? Also, I love the blue on this cover!
PS: Because the books are getting longer and comparatively harder, I probably won't be able to finish them as fast.
September 6, 2021
I just love LIW, and also owned and read all the Rose years books religiously as a kid. Randomly went thrift shopping with my mom and found a copy of this one for $1, so bought it and absolutely loved the nostalgia of the story. Maria Wilkes does such a good job of bringing Caroline to life! It's hard to find these books now that they're out of print, but I'm close to finishing my collection of ALL the books featuring the other little house girls.
June 5, 2019
My partner and I started watching Little House on the Prairie during the long, slow night shift at work. I was in the mood for something light, and this seemed appropriate.
What a great book. It had all the flavor of classic Little House but the writing was better - smoother, and downright eloquent in places. It was still obviously targeted toward a younger audience, but it was still a pleasure to read and enjoyable for an adult. Caroline and her family were delightful.
What a great book. It had all the flavor of classic Little House but the writing was better - smoother, and downright eloquent in places. It was still obviously targeted toward a younger audience, but it was still a pleasure to read and enjoyable for an adult. Caroline and her family were delightful.
May 27, 2018
I grew up reading the Little House On The Prairie books, featuring Laura Ingalls and her sisters and parents. These books were originally my mum’s and have been well read over the years. I also watched and enjoyed the TV show throughout the years, but I never knew there were more books, until recently.
Of course, the books are written by different authors, while still trying to hold onto the original magical quality of the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories.
I managed to find this book quite easily, although the others in the series were slightly more difficult, and more expensive!
This first book is abridged, so it is slightly shorter than the other books - for example, this is 110 pages, with a preview to the next book, a recipe, song and what was happening of significance elsewhere in the world while Caroline was growing up. In comparison, the second book is 343 pages.
I haven’t read the original stories for some time now, but the Caroline described here (Laura’s mother) is different to how she’s pictured in the TV show. She’s described as having a long brown braid (as you can see from the cover), whereas the TV show, the young Caroline seen in flashbacks was shown with very white-blonde hair, quite close to the older Caroline (played by Karen Grassle).
I enjoyed this book, even though it only took me an hour to read, it’s over before it really has a chance to get going. It sticks pretty closely to the same kind of formula that Laura Ingalls Wilder stuck to, and it was showing a happy family life, but also showing the harder times, such as the first frost, the cold winters, little or no money, hand me down clothes and the first day of school.
While I look back on stories from my childhood, such as the Little House On The Prairie/Anne Of Green Gables/Narnia, they have a certain magical quality that has never quite translated to re-reading as an adult. However, I think if you have loved the books as a child, you can retain some of the old feeling from your childhood. While I don’t think these books will ever capture the original, they come pretty close and it will be quite enjoyable to find out more about Caroline growing up and meeting Charles, hopefully taking us up to the beginning of Little House In The Big Woods.
Of course, the books are written by different authors, while still trying to hold onto the original magical quality of the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories.
I managed to find this book quite easily, although the others in the series were slightly more difficult, and more expensive!
This first book is abridged, so it is slightly shorter than the other books - for example, this is 110 pages, with a preview to the next book, a recipe, song and what was happening of significance elsewhere in the world while Caroline was growing up. In comparison, the second book is 343 pages.
I haven’t read the original stories for some time now, but the Caroline described here (Laura’s mother) is different to how she’s pictured in the TV show. She’s described as having a long brown braid (as you can see from the cover), whereas the TV show, the young Caroline seen in flashbacks was shown with very white-blonde hair, quite close to the older Caroline (played by Karen Grassle).
I enjoyed this book, even though it only took me an hour to read, it’s over before it really has a chance to get going. It sticks pretty closely to the same kind of formula that Laura Ingalls Wilder stuck to, and it was showing a happy family life, but also showing the harder times, such as the first frost, the cold winters, little or no money, hand me down clothes and the first day of school.
While I look back on stories from my childhood, such as the Little House On The Prairie/Anne Of Green Gables/Narnia, they have a certain magical quality that has never quite translated to re-reading as an adult. However, I think if you have loved the books as a child, you can retain some of the old feeling from your childhood. While I don’t think these books will ever capture the original, they come pretty close and it will be quite enjoyable to find out more about Caroline growing up and meeting Charles, hopefully taking us up to the beginning of Little House In The Big Woods.
January 2, 2021
Once again a really good book that even though it was from a different author than the Martha and Charlotte years; this author writes very similar to the other so it's not to often you recognize the difference.
This book introduces you to Caroline (Laura Ingallas mother) when she was 5 (as in the other books they all seem to start when the child is 5 or 6) Right after Caroline's Daddy was lost at sea and so the story takes you into the first year of trials and adjustment of Charlotte doing what she knows to do as a single mother in the early 1800's. Caroline's Grandmother lives with them and she's spoken about from time to time through out the book but primarily speaks of Caroline and her older sister Martha. They do have several brothers and the oldest having to take on extra responsibilities now that he has to do more to fill in Daddy's place.
As in the other series of the Little House books; book 1 is always a little 'slow' as you are getting to know the characters and just get a feel for the environment etc. I really enjoyed reading this book
This book introduces you to Caroline (Laura Ingallas mother) when she was 5 (as in the other books they all seem to start when the child is 5 or 6) Right after Caroline's Daddy was lost at sea and so the story takes you into the first year of trials and adjustment of Charlotte doing what she knows to do as a single mother in the early 1800's. Caroline's Grandmother lives with them and she's spoken about from time to time through out the book but primarily speaks of Caroline and her older sister Martha. They do have several brothers and the oldest having to take on extra responsibilities now that he has to do more to fill in Daddy's place.
As in the other series of the Little House books; book 1 is always a little 'slow' as you are getting to know the characters and just get a feel for the environment etc. I really enjoyed reading this book
December 29, 2021
Supposedly a story of Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother Caroline when she was five/six years old. Good for kids, not so interesting for an adult. Did remind me of some of my mother's stories of her childhood like the 3 girls sharing one bed. My mother when she was little was the 4th girl in the bed! Don't think my grandmother used several washings of boiling water when washing the clothes and my mother was lucky enough to have more than 2 dresses- but all hand-me downs. This book did remind me of why I had no interest at all in volunteering for the Pioneer House TV program where a couple of families lived like pioneers. I knew enough from my mother and aunts and uncles that it is hard work and not always pleasant! It was also interesting to see that my mother's early childhood wasn't so different almost 80 years later than this.
December 29, 2022
I loved the Little House books, of all generations, when I was growing up and am rereading some now for the sake of nostalgia.
My main issue is that there isn’t really a transition between the Charlotte years and the Caroline years. We meet Martha’s Lewis Tucker and see her excitement for America, we meet Caroline’s Charles, and Laura’s Almanzo. Now Charlotte is a widow raising five young children in Wisconsin with the help of her mother in law. In the book we learn she left her family, home, and dress shop (her own business!) in Boston to be with Henry Quinner, but it feels rather disconnected.
My main issue is that there isn’t really a transition between the Charlotte years and the Caroline years. We meet Martha’s Lewis Tucker and see her excitement for America, we meet Caroline’s Charles, and Laura’s Almanzo. Now Charlotte is a widow raising five young children in Wisconsin with the help of her mother in law. In the book we learn she left her family, home, and dress shop (her own business!) in Boston to be with Henry Quinner, but it feels rather disconnected.
September 5, 2021
A great story introducing Caroline Quiner, who would eventually grow up to be Ma Ingalls! Definitely recommend!
August 19, 2017
I didn't feel like there were enough Charlotte books so the fact that this first in the Caroline years focuses on a 5-year-old Caroline is good...and it maintains the Little House feel. I do wonder though as to when and why Charlotte moved to Wisconsin. Was it with her parents and family? Did she move after she and her husband Henry Quiner were married? - some of these questions are answered later.
Caroline has two older brother - Joseph and Henry - an older sister Martha, younger sister Eliza, and younger brother (the baby) Thomas. Her father has been lost at sea for over a year and the family is suffering. Yet it's nice to see that Charlotte isn't shunned for being a widow. Her mother-in-law (Grandma Quiner) lives with the family (I love that old time family dynamic; it's unfortunate we don't have that often these days in the U.S.) and shopkeepers take her business.
Plus, the Carpenters (the father, Ben, in particular), are wonderful friends and make me smile.
I like that Martha, not Caroline, is the tomboy. I was getting a little tired of having the direct maternal descendants of Laura to be very much like her.
Like Caroline, corn is my favorite vegetable. It makes me want a small crop!
Yet we see how farmers (both then or now) truly depend on the weather. It makes me appreciate the farmers in my area much more.
"Driving your duck to the wrong pond" is an interesting phrase.
It's interested to see the details of how clothes were washed, particularly after reading of the washing of clothes in the Martha Morse years.
The stagecoach is a great reminder of life in different areas of the U.S. as technology and industry slowly made its way west.
The "Such a Treat" chapter made me tear up.
I find it amazing that the children would have time to walk almost three miles to and from school at dinner time!
And it's weird that there weren't assigned seating areas for different level learners. Even Charlotte had had that.
Caroline has two older brother - Joseph and Henry - an older sister Martha, younger sister Eliza, and younger brother (the baby) Thomas. Her father has been lost at sea for over a year and the family is suffering. Yet it's nice to see that Charlotte isn't shunned for being a widow. Her mother-in-law (Grandma Quiner) lives with the family (I love that old time family dynamic; it's unfortunate we don't have that often these days in the U.S.) and shopkeepers take her business.
Plus, the Carpenters (the father, Ben, in particular), are wonderful friends and make me smile.
I like that Martha, not Caroline, is the tomboy. I was getting a little tired of having the direct maternal descendants of Laura to be very much like her.
Like Caroline, corn is my favorite vegetable. It makes me want a small crop!
Yet we see how farmers (both then or now) truly depend on the weather. It makes me appreciate the farmers in my area much more.
"Driving your duck to the wrong pond" is an interesting phrase.
It's interested to see the details of how clothes were washed, particularly after reading of the washing of clothes in the Martha Morse years.
The stagecoach is a great reminder of life in different areas of the U.S. as technology and industry slowly made its way west.
The "Such a Treat" chapter made me tear up.
I find it amazing that the children would have time to walk almost three miles to and from school at dinner time!
And it's weird that there weren't assigned seating areas for different level learners. Even Charlotte had had that.
September 2, 2020
I loved insight into the life of Caroline Quiner. I can to wait for her to meet Charles Ingalls, which likely explains why I might have found this book slightly dry. Caroline was only 5-6 years-old in this book, so of course most of the book surrounds her life in Brookfield, her family, and her first school experience. The Quiner family experienced a long, hard winter during this book because of an early frost that killed most of their harvest. My favourite part was when Martha left her shoes in the wagon before church and how Caroline was so jealous of her church dress. We also begin to see a friendship form between Martha and Charlie Carpenter, which is oh so cute!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2023
Walau sejak kecil tak pernah ketinggalan film serial Little house in the prairie, tapi buku yang satu ini aku sama sekali gak pernah dengan kalau bukan karena jasa seorang teman di grup buku.
Buku ini adalah seri terpisah yang menceritakan masa kecil sampai remaja seorang bocah pioneer Caroline Quiner yang kelak akan jadi Ma nya Laura Ingalls. Cerita kehidupan sehar-hari di buku ini lumayan reperitif dengan jadwal kerja sehari-hari di masa itu. Ada moment yang menghibur dan cute, ada juga yang menyentuh dan bikin sedih.
Buku ini bikin aku bersyukur hidup di era modern dan masih bisa mendapatkan sesuatu dengan lebih mudah. Dibandingkan seri Little house kisah di sini lebih sederhana dan monoton, tapi bak video ASMR yang bikin relax dan ketagihan, buku ini juga bikin aku pengen lanjut ke cerita selanjutnya.
Buku ini adalah seri terpisah yang menceritakan masa kecil sampai remaja seorang bocah pioneer Caroline Quiner yang kelak akan jadi Ma nya Laura Ingalls. Cerita kehidupan sehar-hari di buku ini lumayan reperitif dengan jadwal kerja sehari-hari di masa itu. Ada moment yang menghibur dan cute, ada juga yang menyentuh dan bikin sedih.
Buku ini bikin aku bersyukur hidup di era modern dan masih bisa mendapatkan sesuatu dengan lebih mudah. Dibandingkan seri Little house kisah di sini lebih sederhana dan monoton, tapi bak video ASMR yang bikin relax dan ketagihan, buku ini juga bikin aku pengen lanjut ke cerita selanjutnya.
June 8, 2020
I remember vaguely reading Little House on the Prairie books and I grew up an actual Little House on the Prairie but I never knew there was a series that introduced ma Ingalls to us! So this is the book that starts the story about Carolyn and actually Charles is also introduced in this book.
I was looking for an easy read because of everything going on in the world my mind is not on reading a deep heavy book a lot of the books I have are sad and that didn't appeal to me either so I really enjoyed this book to see how it all began!
I was looking for an easy read because of everything going on in the world my mind is not on reading a deep heavy book a lot of the books I have are sad and that didn't appeal to me either so I really enjoyed this book to see how it all began!
January 25, 2018
Like all the books in this series, Little House in Brookfield provides a short, sweet glance at what life may have been like for one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's ancestors - in this case her mother Caroline. Caroline's life was full of heart-break. Her father died at see when she was young. Yet this book isn't depressing or tragic. It is written as the family begins to heal and is full of hope. It is a lovely glimpse at what this well-loved woman may have been like as a child.
April 23, 2018
I read all the Little House books as a child, and my now 9-year-old wants nothing to do with them, in part because they're long. I got her this one to try and ease her into them, hoping she'd love this one and want to read Laura's originals. She didn't, but I read it myself. I never knew Caroline's father had died when she was a child and that the grandpa in Little House in the Big Woods was her step-father.
July 13, 2024
This book was a wonderful start to the Caroline Years. The descriptive settings and the characters' personalities were very accurate and reminded me of the Ma in the Little House. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the Little House series and wants to learn how Ma became the well-known character we know in the beloved series.
August 14, 2024
Fun story because of our connection to Brookfield. Extra special because of the author's autograph. The story itself paints a good picture of what life was like in 19th century Wisconsin. Both daily and yearly concerns, social and geographic issues, and stark realities of struggles in a U.S. territory.
June 10, 2017
I've been wanting to read this since I got it when I was eight or nine, but have never had the attention span until now haha. I read it quickly in about an hour and a half. It was cute, definitely a fun quick read for kids.
September 18, 2017
Another great Little House series book! I am really enjoying reading about Caroline "Ma" Ingalls as she grew up. My eight year old daughter and I read this book together every night. She loves it as well.
June 10, 2019
This book is AWESOME I wish I had read it sooner. I am in middle school and I am ENTHRALLED by it. Recommended for 5 year olds and up. If you have not read this it is your next good read for the week, simple and easy, lighthearted to read.
August 20, 2019
None of the other "Little House Years" books are as good as the ones about Laura but other then the Laura books I prefer the Martha and Charlotte books. I don't enjoy the Caroline books as much because they are a bit uneven for me with some in the series being really good and others lacking.
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May 16, 2023Apparently I read the abridged edition, which has weird jumps and lacks most detail. I'm surprised they recommend it for ages 8 - 12, since this is something I'd give to ages 7-9.
I need to find the actual book and read it.
I need to find the actual book and read it.
October 13, 2023
A cute story, but I didn't find it as charming as the original series. There was a modern feel to the language, and the story didn't flow as well as I would've liked. The seasonal changes felt particularly abrupt.
October 8, 2017
Nicely written. One could easily envision the events through little Caroline's eyes. Have not read the Little House books for years, but this fills in details on the mother in those stories.
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